A/N Evening folks, I realize that it has been almost a century since I ever posted. I'm sorry to say that graduating, preparing for boot camp, and writers block have been contributing factors. Still I reiterate my point, I will not abandon my fics and I intend to finish them. I actually have the next chapter of Jaded pretty much written out and I promise to have it posted before I head to boot on the 25th. I'd like to thank all my reviewers for their incredibly kind comments. Now this little piece of writing was written why I was in a philosophical mood, I doubt it's up to my usual standards (as dubious as those are) so I ask your forgiveness. It's a simple little ficlet to let the world know that I'm not dead. So read, and enjoy.


The light from the roaring fire lit the common room merrily; there was stillness in the air, an unseen tension that was hanging over the common rooms only two occupants. One of them was deeply immersed in a book; the other was glaring at the reader with visible annoyance.

"Harry will you please stop ignoring me, since when do you read about obscure branches of magic?" His emerald eyes never leave the pages as he responded.

"Since Voldemort killed my godfather, and began waging a war on the Wizarding World." She flinched, it should have been obvious to her but her mind was on something else.

"Harry she's sorry, you don't realize just how miserable she is." Harry's stoic pose revealed nothing as his eyes glided along the page.

"I'm sure Ginny is sorry, but I don't see how that changes anything Hermione." Harry flipped the page, much to the annoyance of his bushy haired friend.

"It shows Harry how wrong she was, she realizes she made a mistake and now she wants to make up for it." Harry let out a soft sigh; he closed the book and turned to regard his best friend.

"While I'm glad that Ginny realizes just how much she hurt me, it doesn't mean I should be forced to take her back simply because she recognized her own mistake." Hermione growled in frustration, Harry was being such a stubborn git and she didn't know what to do about it.

"Harry it was a onetime thing, she made a mistake and she's sorry about it and I don't think you should scrap an entire relationship because of one mistake." Harry turned his gaze from his exasperated friend to settle on the crackling flames.

'Hermione your equating Ginny's betrayal with something as minor as a misspoke work, it's deeper then that." Hermione strode in front of Harry, forcing him to meet her gaze.

"Then explain it to me." Harry sighed, he really didn't want to go into to many details with Hermione, the pain was still fresh but he was starting to wonder if explaining himself might make her understand him a little better.

"When Ginny was dating Dean earlier this year I was jealous, I was upset that Dean was the one who got to kiss her, to hold her hand, to hold her close and there were times when I wished she would do that with me." Hermione nodded encouragingly, mistakenly sensing perhaps that Harry still had feelings for Ginny.

"Still Hermione even with all my jealousy I never would have thought if trying to do those things with her while she was still dating Dean, it would have been a betrayal of trust and go against everything I am." Hermione shook her head quietly.

"Harry it was a moment of lust, you were off fighting deatheaters and Ginny got really lonely, you shouldn't allow one second of fraudulent emotion to destroy something so beautiful." Harry smiled sadly at his friend.

"I know I'm old fashioned in this regard Hermione, hell half the couples in school openly cheat on one another and don't have qualms about it, still I feel differently." Hermione's shoulders slumped in defeat, suddenly all her dreams of reuniting her best friend with her other friend were turning to ash.

"Some people may be willing to excuse lust as a moment of weakness, as a temporary thing which should be forgiven but I'm not one of them, when I walked in to find Ginny in Dean's lap with her arms around him kissing him…. it broke my feelings for her Hermione." Hermione looked up in shock, it was rare that Harry showed his feelings or ever spoke so much about the reasoning behind them,

"I've had moments of weakness to Hermione, some of most beautiful girls in the school offered me everything because of who I am, but I never considered once taking them up on their offer because I was in a relationship with a girl who I cared deeply about, and she gave me something more that a million lust ridden affairs could." Harry found his gaze drifting softly to the stairwell.

"When I found Ginny with Dean, it showed me that Ginny didn't believe the same things I did, about love, relationships, and trust, so I'm afraid Hermione that I can never go back to Ginny, because I can never trust her again in a relationship." Hermione softly shook her head as if trying to refute his words.

"Oh Harry, she's in so much pain…" Harry smiled sadly.

"Not near as much pain as seeing my trust being broken, I won't run the risk of ever being hurt like that again from Ginny Hermione, and I hope one day you will come to understand my decision." With one more sad smile at his friend, Harry strolled off to bed.

Leaving one best friend horribly confused, and on ex-love drowning in misery.